The Mastermind's Mistake
by ConnVolpe
Summary: -FIRST GAME SPOILERS- Enoshima may have made a fatal mistake in forgetting Naegi's 'good luck' in trying to kill him whilst he slept. But what would have happened had she gone with plan B? The plan to remove the other source of her troubles, and most likely, would cause the others to despair...
1. Despair's Promise, Hope's Regret

" _K-Kirigiri-san?"_

 _At the end of my bed stood Kirigiri, her presence having woken me up. I'd been sleeping peacefully otherwise, despite my fever. She gazed at me, not flinching when seeing my eyes open suddenly. Instead she began speaking, but I couldn't hear her voice in my exhausted state._

" _I can't…what are…you saying?"_

 _My eye lids were heavy, and I couldn't stop them from gradually falling shut. Consciousness floating beyond my reach, I could only make out a few words before I succumbed to my limits, still thinking about why she was in my room._

" _Naegi-kun…sorry…kill…you…"_

* * *

 **Diiiing Doooong… Diiiing Doooong…**

"Good Morning, you guys! It is now 7:00 AM! Rise and shiiiine! Let's make today into the best day it can be!"

With the improvised alarm I had woken up to everyday for the past few days, I rubbed my weary eyes as light streamed through my fingers and groaned. Normally, I could have gotten up within the minute, but today, I'm struggling to. My head is still swimming from that fever.

Recalling what had happened last night, I expect it wasn't just a dream but I can't really remember. If it wasn't, I wonder why Kirigiri came by. It must have been important, but thinking back to it, I can't recall anything but the slightly creepy image of her standing at the end of my bed, staring at me. She looked… sad? Was that just my imagination?

Making the decision to catch up to her later before I say anything, I checked the knife hadn't moved out of paranoia mostly, before heading towards to the impromptu daily meeting of the remaining students. Knowing the knife was secure in my drawer, I made my way towards the cafeteria. Any distraction would be a good one right now.

It seems oddly quiet today. Usually I would have heard the faint murmur of discussion by now. I guess everyone is tired today. Walking through the door to the cafeteria, I hardly notice that no-one but Asahina was actually around as I head into the kitchen for some food.

Almost falling backwards on the chair she was rocking on as she noticed me walking past, she sprung to her feet and stops just a foot in front of me.

"Naegi-kun! You had us worried last night!"

"H-huh?"

"You weren't answering your door! We thought you might have been, y'know, killed… Seriously, where were you?"

"I wasn't feeling too good. I went to bed early to get some rest. I didn't hear you guys come by…" I say, a hint of curiosity in my voice, "wait, why were you looking for me?"

"Eh, it's a long story. A bunch of stuff has happened whilst you were asleep. I'd tell you but it'd be quicker to show you!"

In a flash, Asahina grabbed my sleeve and was pulling me out of the cafeteria before I realised what was happening.

"H-hey, I wanted to get breakfast!"

"No time! Togami wanted everyone to the gym pronto!"

Disappearing out the door without me, she was out of sight almost immediately. I mutter an apology to my stomach, to which it protests with a loud groan, before I follow her. As I left the cafeteria, I could still hear the thumping of her feet and slamming of doors as she runs towards the gym.

Begrudgingly making it to the gym with my stomach still in protest, I push through the door to find everyone crowding in the centre around something. As I approach, I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and pushing my way through them, I see what had me worried.

"W-what happen to Monokuma?"

The bear lay in the centre of the gym, uncharacteristically quiet and in several pieces. Hagakure was kneeling besides him, tinkering with his body as Fukawa held his legs and Asahina held the head. Everyone's heads turned to see me speak if only to acknowledge me before turning back to what they were doing. With a little bit of caution, I kneel the other side of our inactive tormentor's body to Hagakure, as he sat hands-deep in the bear's mechanical insides.

"Oy vey, what makes you think you're special, sleeping whilst we all work?" Togami sighed, giving me a scowl and a suspicious glare. He wasn't the only one to seemingly begrudge my night's sleep as, without skipping a beat, Fukawa also gave me a glace, albeit less menacing.

"Y-you got a lot of n-nerve showing up n-now when the rest of us haven't got any s-sleep!"

Had they been up all night? Hagakure's yawn provide some supporting evidence for that assumption. As I began to look at what he was doing, my stomach decided that now wasn't the time.

"Hey, 'Hina. Did you bring breakfast? Naegi sounds like he could use it!" Hagakure laughed, following up with another yawn.

"Aw shoot. I'll be right back!" she shouted back, running off before I could offer my assistance. Nevertheless, my stomach seemed to accept that with one final grumble, allowing me to move on.

"What happened to Monokuma?" I ask, unable to hide my curiosity. Hagakure just responded with another laugh.

"What do you think? We dismantled him. Togami found him in sleep mode here last night, but I can't find anything wrong with the mechanics, dude… I wonder why he's not working."

I turn to Togami to ask him, but he just huffs. "Yes, I did. I wanted to ask him about the treasure he had stolen but I found him deactivated right here." My first thought is that Monokuma would probably see this as violence against the headmaster, and I wasn't too keen on getting myself impaled by spears. Seeing the worry on my face, Togami offered some comfort, despite talking in his usual disinterested demeanour. "Relax. We're in no danger. He's been unresponsive all night. I doubt he would being to wake up now."

Despite Togami's reasoning, I'm still a little suspicious. Where has the mastermind been all this time, if they haven't been operating Monokuma? The more I think about it, the more it unsettles me. Kirigiri might have some idea…

"Where's Kirigiri?" I asked, looking around. I can't believe it took me to realise that she's been missing this whole time.

"We thought Kiri' might be with you, dude, since neither of you were answering your door last night" Hagakure explains, examining a large black spherical object he just pulled from Monokuma's chest. At first glance, it looks to be a ball, but a second examination reveals a fuse.

"Oh, a bomb" Togami looks as unimpressed as ever, but Hagakure's reaction couldn't been any less different.

"A-a-a-a-a Bomb?! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do?"

"I'd be careful if I were you. There's a motion sensor in there."

Hagakure was positively quaking, and the bomb he held shook violently in his hands.

"Hagakure, calm down! You're going to make it go off!" Asahina yelled, standing behind us with arms full of donuts. She too seemed to be scared witless.

"Oh, I forgot to mention I turned it off."

What?

Did he just… Did he do that on purpose?

"Oh… Ahahahaha… Don't scare me like that!" Hagakure protested quite loudly. With a few laughs at the situation, everyone takes some food from Asahina (some more begrudging than others to eat "peasant food") before taking a step away from the dismantled Monokuma to sit down.

It's quiet about now, and the atmosphere is calm. It was nice to let my guard down, even for a little bit, whilst everyone relaxed at chatted. But soon, the familiar need to get back to work set in, and the calmness of the last few minutes faded.

The question still wandered my mind: what happened to the Mastermind? With Monokuma's apparent shutting down, I could only assume something might have happened, and without skipping a beat, Togami picked up on it.

"Naegi. Is there something you're hiding from us?" Accused straight of the mark, I went into defence mode.

"N-no! It's just… don't you think it's strange? If Monokuma isn't working, where's the Mastermind?"

My question seemed to take even Togami by surprise, even if he was trying to hide it. "I want to know that myself. Let's go."

Everyone freezes as breakfast comes to a sudden end. It is only Fukawa who follows Togami in standing up. "Hey, where are you going?" Asahina asks, her mouth full of donut still. Almost as if to make it as dramatic as possible, he doesn't turn to us but instead leans over his shoulder, before stepping into a higher position.

"The Headmaster's Office. We're going to break in."

The stunned silence, apart from Hagakure choking on a donut, lasted all too long before Asahina spoke up. "Wait! That's dangerous! Don't you remember the rules?!"

Togami smiled, before sneering at her. "That's fine if you want to take the coward's route. But I think you'll find I know what I'm doing."

"But, dude, what if Monokuma shows up?! We're going to be in a heap of trouble if he finds out."

"He won't find out."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"I didn't think I'd have to explain it, but I suppose I shouldn't have overestimated you. He hasn't woken up so far. That means something must have happened to the Mastermind. And if something has happened to the Mastermind that means no repugnant bears to deal with. Now, I'm going to find our way out of here. Will you bow under the pressure? Or fight?"

"Ah… M-my white knight knows exactly w-what he's doing! How dare you q-question him?!"

Asahina had had enough at this point. "Fine, but if he gets us killed, I'm going to slap him again."

Fukawa immediately responded my squaring up to Asahina as best she could. "D-don't you lay you f-filthy fingers on him, you wh-"

"That's enough. Let's go." Having reassured that no-one was going to opt-out of our excursion, he led the way by walking off.

"W-wait for me, m-my love!"

"Sakura, give me strength…"

"I've got a b-bad feeling about this, dude! I predicted something like this would happen!"

Everyone ran off after our fearless 'leader', leaving me in the gym with the dismantled Monokuma. I needed a moment to collect my thoughts before I could run off. The silence echoed around me as I took a few deep breaths, clearing my head.

"Kirigiri, where are you…?"

* * *

"So…many…stairs… Why…did…the…office…have…to be…so… far up?"

I wasn't the fittest person in the world, but I'd hardly expected four flights of stairs to have me gasping for air for so long afterwards. Dragging my legs, it was almost certain that I'd be the last one there again.

Rounding a few corners and finding no door to the headmaster's office, it occurred to me that I might not actually remember where it was, yet before I could pull out my ElectroID, someone screamed.

"I guess… that's my cue…" Even having picked up the pace slightly, it seemed like forever before I found the room I was looking for.

I had expected to find everyone at the door, trying to get in, yet there was no reason to believe any of them had been here, except for Fukawa. She lay unconscious in the open doorframe to the headmaster's office. Strange. I thought it would be locked…

As I made my way past Fukawa, I could have sworn I heard her mumble something, but I ignored it. Only a step more and I had found the others, all standing in a row. They were blocking off my view of the office and I couldn't see much as I peered through any gaps between them.

"H-hey, guys? What's wrong?" No-one responded, as I pushed my way through them, and I too found myself stunned into silence by the sight before me: the office was in disarray, sheets of paper scattered everywhere, the desk filled with several thick books, piled upon one another, and the coffee table in the centre of the room lay in several flattened pieces.

It took me too long before I noticed exactly what I should have been looking at. A corpse lay against the headmaster's desk, slumped over as its face was hidden from sight. A knife stuck out of its abdomen, and there was some blood on the back of its head. Despite all the times I'd seen my friend's lifeless bodies, I wasn't prepare for the realisation of who it was.

"K-Kirigiri-san?"


	2. Another One Bites the Dust

"K-Kirigiri-san?"

I didn't know what else to say. I'd gone weak at the knees and couldn't move. I wanted to fall to the ground and scream dramatically, but what good would that do? The sight of her, cold and lifeless, slumped against the desk was a sight I knew I would never want to see again, yet I couldn't bring myself to look away, even when Togami began to move towards her.

With each step he took, I could feel my heart beat faster and faster. My eyes never came off Kirigiri, but with each of Togami's footsteps, I had to fight harder and harder to keep back my tears as the reality of the situation took hold.

"Stop!"

I'd protested quite loud, loud enough to produce a murmur from Fukawa's fainted form, and Togami, crouched next to Kirigiri, just looked back at me in shock. A nervous silence filled the room as everyone's eyes lay upon me. I didn't really even know what I was doing…

"I'll examine her…" I whispered, in contrast to my earlier outburst. Togami began to scowl, but he seemed to have caught a glare from Asahina, before rolling his eyes and walking away towards the desk.

Truthfully, I'd never examined the bodies myself. We'd always relied on Kirigiri for exactly that: her calm demeanour and patience with all of us, but most of all, her ability to look at the bodies of our friends without flinching. She'd come through for us so many times. I could go as far to say I was lost without her constantly making sure I wouldn't slip up.

Slowly, everyone set about doing something. Asahina and Hagakure went to off to examine something else, Togami set to work on examining the room (although I suspect he was waiting for his turn with Kirigiri), and Genocider woke up but was quickly sent away by Togami.

I had dug my own grave, in volunteering to examine Kirigiri. I didn't think I could bring myself to get any closer to Kirigiri without cracking up. I continued to just stand and stare, but eventually it had to end.

"Oy, listen. We'll all die if you don't get a move on, so hurry up and leave so I can finish my examination" Togami moaned, proceeding to leave the room, having put down a book from the desk, "you've got five minutes." It may not have been his intention, but the slight distraction of listening to his voice rather than continuing to think woke me up.

He was right though. We'd all be at risk if somebody didn't do this. With that responsibility on my shoulders, I forced myself to move. I crept closer and closer, still unable to look away. I still wanted it to all be a joke, as I dropped to my knee, sitting beside her.

As soon as I reached ground level, a few things became apparent. The back of her hair and jacket was covered in fragments of wood, similar to those scattered at her feet. The blood had come from her head seemed to have been caused by a cut, which was also surrounded with the wooden fragments.

I'm sure if Kirigiri would have had some decisive theory about this, but without her, all I could do was add it to the inventory.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Wooden Fragments" into your ElectroID]** **  
[New Ammo: loaded "Head Wound" into your ElectroID]**

It was then I noticed something else peculiar, there seemed to be no blood on the knife. I'd blocked it out until now, but I had the feeling there should have been blood. We'd seen almost the exact same wound on Maizono. Something was worrying me about the knife too, but as much as I thought about it, I couldn't think what was odd…

Kirigiri seemed to be lacking any of the blood we had seen from that first murder. No blood coming from the mouth, no blood pooling on the floor, no blood even around the wound into the abdomen. Something was off.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Knife Wound" into your ElectroID]** **  
[New Ammo: loaded "Absence of Blood" into your ElectroID]**

Knowing there was something suspicious about the lack of blood, I tried to look for it from every angle. Apart from her head, there was none, apart from a slight trickle on her neck where she'd been caught with something. On both sides, there was more scratches and even some bruising on the visible skin.

Trying to get a look and forcing myself to ignore the smell of lavender in her hair, the scratches and bruising seemingly marking the circumference of her neck, almost joining at the back. The darkness of the bruises contrasted highly with her pale complexion.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Neck Wounds" into your ElectroID]**

I took a step back, something clearly very wrong here, but fell back as I felt something crunch under my shoe and jump to try avoid doing that very thing. Landing on my back, I pulled myself up to see what I can actually stepped on.

It didn't help that I'd cracked it into several small red shiny pieces. I wanted to panic and I very almost tried to gather them up to throw them away. But I thought better of it. Maybe one of the others could identify what they could be.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Red Fragments" into your ElectroID]**

With a large sigh, I leant back. Why was there so much evidence, and just on Kirigiri? It was something bound to come up in the trial. The sheer amount of confusion that the multitude of wounds, injuries and peculiarities would create a labyrinth of theories to wade through. If only Kirigiri were still here, I could be sure we'd make it through.

I'd have been lying if I said I wasn't worried. The best way to fight that worry though, would be to continue investigating and finding the truth, just as we'd done so many times before now. With another attempted analytical look at Kirigiri, I had to still fight tears, but I was slowly gaining confidence with each piece of evidence that she gave me.

The next piece I found was protruding from her jacket's inside pocket. Focused on opening her jacket gently and open the pocket fully to retrieve the evidence, I didn't hear Hagakure approaching until the slight gasp he let out at the sight. I was leaning over Kirigiri's body, methodically undressing her.

"Er… I can come back later, Naegi-chi!" Hagakure laughed nervously as he slowly retreated from the room backwards. Looking back at what I was doing, I couldn't help but go a little red myself.

"I-it's not- I'm searching for evidence…" I yelled. It came out louder and guiltier than I had expected, and I'm not sure it convinced him, as he hid behind the door from the outside.

"Well, um…I won't judge, dude, but…er…Togami-kun told me to tell you to hurry up. So- do that, right? Later…" Still looking sceptical, he left at a brisk pace, mumbling to himself.

Distracted, I turned back to Kirigiri and proceeded to remove a piece of folded paper from her inside pocket. As it came out, so did a small blue key. It had no label to where it may unlock, nor any other indication of such. However, with a bit of thought, it was easy enough to assume that it opened the AV room, the last remaining locked door. Quickly, I tucked it away for later use. As a precaution, I checked her other pockets as well, but didn't find anything else.

It was a picture of sorts. In it, a sharply dressed man stood smiling next to a small child, with braided lavender hair. They were both smiling, and looked vaguely familiar and similar. I could only assume that this might be Kirigiri and her father, but I couldn't be sure. She'd never talked that much about herself…

Before I replaced it for the others to find, I noticed that there was some writing on the back. Folding it over again, I read the text.

 _Jin and Kyouko Kirigiri: November 2001._

I could hardly recognise the young Kirigiri with such a wide smile on her face, but there it was in front of me. I had to admit she looked quite cute when she was younger, but that's not what drew my eye. What did was the man's suit, and the crest sown on it. It was the crest of Hope's Peak Academy.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Kirigiri's Photo" into your ElectroID]**

With that, I put the photo back into her pocket. Y'know, without the blood, she looked like she could have been sleeping. If only to entertain the stubborn part of me that refused to think that she was gone, I took Kirigiri's hands in mind and tried to look her in the eyes. With her head tilted forward, I couldn't see her eyes past her fringe, but what I could see was her smile. It was small, but it was a smile.

"Even now, you have confidence in us…" I muttered to myself, almost laughing at my silly little gesture. I didn't even know what I was doing anymore. I had no clue nor theory about what must have transpired. "For once, I think someone's more optimistic than me…"

I must have begun crying a little then, as I dropped my head. I'd have thought I'd be used to this by now, but I'll never get used to it. I'll never get used to standing by and watching my friends die whilst I'm powerless to stop them. "Kirigiri, help me…"

As I wept, my whole body shaking as I sobbed, she dropped something onto her lap. It had been clenched in her hand, but the shaking had knocked it out. It was a scarlet bow of some kind. It looked vaguely familiar. Normally, I would have resorted to thanks and cheer but in all honesty, I had no idea what it could be telling me. At this rate, it seemed like there was going to be a lot of evidence for us to discuss without much clue even without the bow, but I added it to the record anyway.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Scarlet Bow" into your ElectroID]**

"I knew you'd come through for me, Kirigiri." I smiled, my mood a little better, as I began to stand up. If anything, it was a sign that Kirigiri was still looking out for me, and that gave me confidence. A deep breath later, I was calm and collected, and finally could think without the grief and worry taking over my thoughts.

"Ah, finally. Now move. You've already wasted my precious time" sighed Togami, quickly shoving me to one side as he approached the body. I managed to supress a laugh at Togami's self-confidence, even when he stepped past me and onto the red fragments with a loud crunch.

With a little gasp and a deadly glare at the even smaller red fragments under his foot, he shot me a look that told me I was dead if I told anyone he had stepped on evidence. Neglecting to mention I'd probably crushed it first, I couldn't help but feel Togami was not his usual collected self. The signs were all but obvious, but he looked worried. He rushed everything, even his unsatisfied groan, opposed to his normal calculated movements.

"Naegi. Would you like to tell me why you have undressed Kirigiri?" Togami asked, the curiosity evident in his tone. He quickly caught my eyes, but I looked away, unable to maintain eye contact, or stop myself turning red.

"I-I was checking out her body," I stammered, before realising my mistake, adding to the discomfort I felt under Togami's scrutinizing gaze, "I mean, I was looking for evidence!"

"Of course you were. Now, go do something else and stop distracting me" Togami grumbled, knowing that this conversation was not going anywhere. Taking that as permission to move on with my investigation, I walked away to begin inspecting the Headmaster's office, thankful that the exchange didn't drag on, and give me a chance to become more flustered than I already was.

I took a quick glance round the room, and my eyes settled on a few prominent things I would need to investigate. Deciding to investigate the desk first, I walked around the large mahogany utility, but not before I heard Togami whisper something in very uneasy tone.

"If Naegi hasn't learnt to handle himself without having to be babysat by you, Kirigiri, I fear this may be a little more difficult that I had first thought…"


	3. Hello Despair, My Old Friend

To say the desk was big would be the understatement of the century. It was easily the largest desk I had ever seen. It was probably bigger than all the teacher's desks I'd seen over the course of my time at middle school, combined.

I didn't even know where to begin looking for evidence: The desk was a mess. Assorted files and books were strewn across it, covering the entirety of its surface, the off-white paper contrasting with the dark wood underneath.

The first thing I set my eyes on was the picture of Kirigiri staring up at me from the book Togami had put down earlier. It had been left open on the page, and seemed to include a lot of details on her. It felt like an invasion of her privacy to be seeing everything see was, when she had volunteered so little information to me when we talked. She didn't like talking about herself.

Waking up from that thought however, something peeked my interest from under her photo and name. Her Super High School Level. The one she'd forgotten, the one title nobody knew amongst the group. In a bold, neat font, it read:

 _Kyouko Kirigiri  
Super High School Level Detective_

That… made a lot of sense, actually. She'd seemed so calm and confident every investigation, never once hesitating to examine the corpses. Even if she had forgotten, something like that must have stuck, having seen so much tragedy, so much death. It was probably a safe assumption that it may have had something to do with her detachment and desensitization towards the horrific crimes of the past weeks. Cracking a little smile, I couldn't help but think how silly we all were for not realising. It was the perfect title for her.

Curious, I continued reading on, only to find that the profile contained an abundance of information about the enigma that was Kyouko Kirigiri. As I read, I confirmed things that I knew and learnt those that I didn't know. She'd come from an esteemed family of detectives, she wore gloves to cover scars she had on her hands, she had trouble making friends.

However, despite the vast wealth of information, I found myself drawn to a small hand-written note, which looked out of place amongst all the standard size 12 font.

 _Kyouko was abandoned by her father and refuses to acknowledge him as such. However, during her psychological examination upon entering the academy, she defended him against every accusation of malicious intent against her, despite evident bitterness towards him._

With a bit of concentration, I had the feeling I had seen the similar handwriting before, but, for what seemed like the one hundredth time during this particular investigation, I couldn't place what was so familiar about it. With that on my mind, I looked for more information on the next page.

Instead of Kirigiri's soft features, I was met with the enthusiastic grin of Kuwata, looking up from the page. It shocked me a little to see his face again after the first case, but it brought some comfort that he looked happy, instead of the expression of regret, pain, and despair that was burned into my mind from his execution.

On the page were some details about his life that I knew already. Super High School Level Baseball Player. A desire to become a Musician. A little bit of a slacker when it came to academics. Nothing came as a surprise to me, but the existence of Kirigiri and Kuwata's profiles asked more questions than it gave answers.

Looking to rectify that, I slowly flicked through the pages I hadn't seen, recognising several faces as I from the past two weeks inside the academy, even if they all looked a bit younger than I remembered. I counted two pages that had been ripped out of the fairly small file, but other than that, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary.

Flipping quickly to the front, I found out what it was. A black leather-clad book, marked with the Hope's Peak Academy crest, and in small lettering on the spine, the words "Hope's Peak Academy; 78th Class"

Thinking about it, I don't remember posing for the photograph on my page. When was it taken, and furthermore, why do I look different? I remember looking like that, the three hour I'd spent in front of a mirror before my first day, making sure everything was straightened out (except for that one strand of hair that defies the laws of physics by remaining standing, even when showering), but when I looked this morning, I looked… older?

 **[New Ammo: loaded "78** **th** **Class Profiles" into your ElectroID]**

With no answers coming to mind, I pushed those questions to the back of my mind, allowing others to surface. Whose profiles were missing? But before I could flip to the first profile, Togami had decided to take over.

"Invading people's privacy are we, Naegi?" he said, coming up behind me. As I turned to answer him, the book was pulled from my grasp, before Togami sat down in the Headmaster's chair. "Why don't you do something that will actually help you in understanding the things I'll be having to explain to everybody in the trial, hmm?" he sneered, flicking immediately back to Kirigiri's profile and ignoring me.

Still a little stunned by the sudden interruption, I must have lingered longer than Togami had expected before he decided to acknowledge my confusion. "Are you going to investigate or do I need to hold your hand? Not that I would ever do such a thing…" he continued, to which I reluctantly sighed, "Why don't you check the waste basket? I'm sure you can waste more time searching in there."

"Keep calm, Naegi. Deep breaths" I muttered, unable to muster the strength to put up with Togami's attitude at the moment. Anyhow, I obliged, knowing that he would just ask me again later, because he sure wasn't going to do it. Crouching down to pull the waste basket from under the desk, I didn't expect much from it. When I looked inside, the sole piece of rubbish was a crumpled piece of paper.

Believing it to just be a used form, I unwrapped it. It was a letter in different handwriting from the note on Kirigiri's profile. The bottom left-hand corner was also covered in an unidentifiable red liquid. Nevertheless, the prospect of learning more about Kirigiri enticed me to read it.

 **From the Desk of Hope's Peak Academy's Headmaster  
** _Kyouko,  
If you're reading this then you have no doubt already taken the Master Key that was in my desk and have found my lodgings on the second floor of the dormitories.  
I'm sorry for having taken the measures of locking you and your classmates in this school, however, it was for your own protection, but even so, I fear that it is too late to prevent what has been set in motion.  
However, I have taken precautions. I have left the notes I have compiled on group, Super High School Level Despair, in one of the books piled on my desk. You'll know which one.  
I'm proud of you.  
_ _Dad_ _Jin Kirigiri_

"Protection? That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard…" I whispered to myself, louder than I had meant to if Togami's grumbling was any indication. It was right, though. If this is protection, then Kirigiri's father obviously didn't do enough.

Pushing that to one side, I gave the letter a little more thought. Kirigiri's father must have had quite a lot of power if he managed to shut down a school like Hope's Peak. Most likely, he had to have had something to do with the steering committee to be able to pull something like that off.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Letter to Kirigiri" into your ElectroID]  
[New Ammo: loaded "Super High School Level Despair" into your ElectroID]**

Leaving the letter on the desk for everyone else to find, I gave a quick glance towards Togami, who was still reading the yearbook. Deciding not to bother him, I turned my attention elsewhere. The last obvious thing I needed to investigate was the broken table.

Having taken a few steps towards it, I noticed a few peculiarities. Most of the splinters and other debris had collected at one end of the break in a bit of a pile. More splinters lead towards Kirigiri, spread across the gap between the table and her body, some having left faint scratches along the floor as they were moved.

 **[New Ammon: loaded "Trail of Splinters" into your ElectroID]**

Moving past that, I took a closer look at the rectangular table. Simply, it had broken into two halves length-ways, leaving a fair amount of debris in the middle. However, not all the debris was wood. Scattered amongst the pile of wood were a multitude of photos. Glancing at them, I could just about make out a face I would recognise anywhere.

Pulling the photo from the pile, Maizono sat giggling at the antics of an angry Celes attacking Yamada. To see each of them happy brought a smile to my face, but something felt off. A closer look revealed a soft blue sky behind them, shown by the lack of iron plates on the windows.

Curious about this, I pulled another photo from the pile. In it, Oowada, Kuwata and Fujisaki were all smiling, messing about with each other. Again, it brought a smile to my face, before it was wiped clean off by the sky behind them.

One question came to mind: When were these taken? If there were no iron panels on the windows, it must have been before we were locked in the academy, but everyone said it had been their first time meeting each other when we'd all woken up and gathered in the entrance hall. So when?

Looking again at the pile, I saw what must have been at least 6 more photos. Pulling them all out and laying them all side-by-side, each and every one of them showed the same thing: 15 students, doing activities as a class. However, one student caught my eye more than the others.

A dark hair student, with very plain features, preventing her from standing out in the crowd. Oddly enough, she was unremarkably normal (not that I was one to speak). There was only one person who it could be. Mukuro Ikusaba. The Sixteenth Student. Super High School Level Despair. The very person they were meant to be protected from was in their class, in each of their group photos.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "78** **th** **Class Photos" into your ElectroID]  
[New Ammo: loaded "Mukuro Ikusaba" into your ElectroID]**

At first, I thought investigations were supposed to help solve mysteries, not create entirely new ones. Having had to participate in them myself several times now, I knew that was no longer the case. It would be nice to have something a bit simpler for a change.

Nevertheless, before I could investigate elsewhere, something else caught my attention about the table. Removing the photos from the pile of splinters had uncovered a few larger pieces of debris. Debris that had specks of blood on them. The blood had been scattered on quite a few pieces, all seemingly from the edge of the table. It must have been quite an impact for the blood to splatter and break off such large chunks of the table, if they were connected at all.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Bloody Table" into your ElectroID]**

That seemed like it for the table. There was little point sticking around for so long if there wasn't anything else to obviously look at. I could spend the entire time looking at the documentation scatter around the floor, but there was a murder to solve, and it was unlikely I'd get anything new out of examining it.

Heading out, and thinking about where to go next, I walked towards the door. Normally, I wouldn't have paid it a second glance, but something Togami had said earlier ran on my mind as I looked at the lock on the door. It didn't have any scratches, what-so-ever.

My departure and sudden stop must have drawn Togami's attention, having looked up from the book. "Good. I thought you'd forgotten already. Seems someone isn't as utterly incompetent as he was at the beginning of this whole ordeal" Togami said, his voice quiet enough to not be shouting but forceful enough to be commanding as usual, "Now think. How exactly did Kirigiri enter the _locked_ Headmaster's office?"

The answer was obvious. She had used Monokuma's Stolen Treasure, a master key to the whole building, taken only a few nights ago. However, that information was known only by me. Only I had been told of this discovery after covering for Kirigiri's secret investigation of the Headmaster's office. She'd trusted me. Could I trust Togami? "I don't know" I replied almost automatically, but to Togami's irritation.

"Oh well, I suppose you could only be useful to me for so long. Now kindly go away" Togami sighed, swinging around in the chair, turning his back to me. While he couldn't see me, I took a quick glance at the lock to find no key waiting for me.

So where had it gone?

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Monokuma's Stolen Treasure" into your ElectroID]**

I didn't have much time to think afterwards, as I turned, only to have Asahina clattered into me, shouting something. I fell back into the wall, cushioning her impact, but hurting myself at the same time. As I shook of the temporary pain and shock of such a collision, Asahina jumped to her feet as if she'd never crashed in the first place.

One looked at her told me she was worried about something. She grabbed my hand and yanked me up with enough power to lift me of my feet a little. Yet this time, she didn't let me recover from my arm being pulled out of its socket before talking. "Oh thank god you're still here. Naegi, I needed to tell you something," Asahina yelled at me, not even pausing to take a breath, "Someone broke into your room."


	4. Mad World

I still hadn't recovered from chasing after Asahina for the second time in a day, so doing it a third time was not ideal. My only comfort was that, unlike last time, it was down the stairs rather than up.

"Come on, Naegi! Quickly! I think I heard something!" Asahina shouted from the other end of the corridor. She had run to my room and back by the time I'd reached the dormitories. As impatient as she was being, I could understand the rush and tried my hardest to continue running, rather than collapsing.

Rounding the last corner as we reached the doors to our rooms, something immediately began to attract my attention. It wasn't just my own room that was open. The room to the left of my own had been left wide open, and the lights on. Asahina and I peered in, curious and a little confused. Mostly the room was tidy, apart from the desk, which was covered in scattered pieces of paper, much like the headmaster's desk had been.

"W-wahuh? It happened again! Kirigiri's room wasn't open when I came by before!" Asahina yelled, with me standing right beside her. Covering my ear, and putting a hand on her shoulder seemed to make her aware of her volume, as she blushed a little, offering an apologetic smile.

Returning it with a soft 'Don't worry', she got back on track. "Eh, anyway, I didn't want to check your room without you since your… stuff… is out…" she said, trailing off a little at the end, seeming a little embarrassed. I would have asked, but immediately walked away, having begun to go red in the face.

Ignoring Kirigiri's room for now, I walked to my own room, to find the lock to the door had been unscrewed and lay in several pieces on the floor. A toolkit, the same as those given to the boys at the beginning of this whole ordeal, lay used on the floor.

"Well, hopefully that narrows it down…" I muttered aloud to myself. Although giving it a bit of thought made me question it. Togami would probably demand my key from me and I'm not sure Hagakure could do something like this.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Break-ins" into your ElectroID]**

Cautiously taking a few more steps inwards, I found the cause of Asahina's embarrassment. The contents of each and every draw in my room had been discarded onto the floor, including several pairs of plain white underwear.

With a slightly embarrassed blush, I set to work tidying up my drawers. "Whoever it was that broke in was definitely looking for something in a rush…" It didn't take long to tidy up, but the sheer volume of socks and underwear I had made it a little tedious. I must have had enough to last me another month without having to wash any to reuse.

With the last drawer full of clothes repacked, only one drawer remained, but nothing else needed storing. "Wait…" Realising exactly what I was yet to replace in the draws made me panic a little. Sure enough, my worries were well-founded. The knife was missing, and I had a hunch of where it now was.

 **[Ammo Updated: reloaded "Knife Wound" into your ElectroID]**

I felt my heart sink at the realisation. The knife the others had entrusted me with was now the weapon that silenced the one person who could have given me an alibi for that night. Not good.

Before I could panic about it anymore, Asahina knocked on the doorframe. "Hey, Naegi? Is anything missing?" she asked, looking a little worried. In all honesty, I was confused and scared, not just because the evidence pointed towards me as the culprit, but because I couldn't imagine any of the others having murdered Kirigiri or having tried to frame me.

"Y-yeah. I'm good." I managed to produce a little smile, but it almost certainly looked fake. However, if it looked like it, she didn't say anything. Straightening up and returning my smile, she gestured towards Kirigiri's room.

"If you're done, do you want to check out Kiri- eh, the other room with me? I could use a hand…" It was a clear opportunity to get my mind off of what was troubling me, and so I took it. With an eager nod, I made my way towards the door, making no effort to hide my rush to leave.

As I approached, Asahina swung round onto the wall to allow me to go ahead and take the lead. As I passed her, I immediately came face to face with a slight difference between the two break-ins. Rather than having the lock removed, the door had simply been unlocked. It just looked as though the door had been left open accidently, if you ignored the mess of paper behind it.

 **[Ammo Updated: reloaded "Break-ins" into your ElectroID]**

The most prominent thing about Kirigiri's room was just how plain it was. Most of the rooms were still recognisable as belonging to one person or another. This room however felt like it was yet to have been actually been lived in.

First things first, I went to the desk to investigate the papers. Given the absolute mess, and the fact the door hadn't been shut, the culprit must have been in quite the rush. Grabbing a handful of paper, I flicked through them, sheet by sheet. Most of them were just writing; a few notes on the different trials, a few sheet with details about different people (the word 'trustworthy' had been crossed out and rewritten on the page about me, which was understandable after our slight dispute about Oogami's situation) and, maybe most importantly, a list of questions about the school. However, none had been answered.

After a few searches, I came across a small black notebook. Opening it, the handwriting was small and the sentences composed of two to three words. A few of the notes were about the murders, including things only Kirigiri had worked out, such as Oowada's verbal tick of calling Fujisaki kid instead of chick during the second trial.

After that though, there was nothing. It had been removed, ripped from the book until only blank, indent-free pages remained, leaving no trace of what had been written there. Once again, the thief had found what they were looking for.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Kirigiri's notebook" into your ElectroID]**

"Did you find anything, Naegi?" Asahina asked, currently sitting on the edge of the bed. I gave a quick sigh before shaking my head. There was nothing left for us to find. The only thing which could be useful was the fact that someone had had broken into two rooms, and took something from each of them.

With a groan, Asahina flopped backwards onto the bed, closing her eyes. Turning back to the papers at hand, I began to go through them again to check for anything else that might have been missed. Or at least, I would have had Asahina stopped groaning and shuffling behind me.

"Uh, how did Kirigiri sleep in this? It's stiff and something keeps sticking into my back!" she yelled, mostly in frustration. I tried a little to ignore her whilst she kept tossing and turning, but progress was slow. Asahina kept on with the groaning, although eventually, she got tired of trying.

"I don't suppose you've got anything to go on yet?" she inquired, the annoyance barely hidden in her voice. I too was ready to call it quits. Shoving my hand into my pocket, it brushed up against the key to the AV room, however it also brushed against an envelope.

Withdrawing the envelope from my pocket, I recalled what Kirigiri had said when she had given it to me the previous afternoon. "Well, Kirigiri gave me this yesterday before she went off to do some investigating."

Asahina sat up and looked at what was in my hand, before rolling her eyes. "Naegi, you didn't think that it would important? Especially if Kirigiri gave it to you!" Asahina shouted, the disbelief at my apparent stupidity. I'd never heard her speak like this before. Yanking it from my hand, she tore open the envelope at the speed of light before unravelling the letter and reading the contents.

 _Under the sheets._

"Huh?" Asahina's confusion was apparent, given her expression, "Under what sheets?" It didn't need much thought before she realised though, still leaving me behind a little in her thought process. With a bounce, she jumped off the bed, and pulled off the duvet and pillows to reveal a scrap of paper hidden underneath.

 _Mukuro Ikusaba, Super High School Level Soldier_

The profile of the sixteenth student. Ikusaba Mukuro, a student who was the subject of interest for various militaries, and was entirely scar-free after three years as part of a mercenary organisation called Fenrir. Ikusaba Mukuro, the one Kirigiri called 'Super High School Level Despair.' Even the headmaster had seen it fit to write the words, 'potentially dangerous', on the page.

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Mukuro Ikusaba" into your ElectroID]**

"Who's this? Do you know her?" Asahina asked, still very much confused at the discovery. I didn't actually know that much about her, but I at least knew to beware. Yet, before I could explain, someone else decided to join in.

"The Sixteenth Student. Someone who has been a total enigma to us, until now, that is." Togami strolled into the room, and took the profile straight out of my hands. Not bothering to give us even a second glance, he began thinking out loud. "I never thought I'd hear the name Fenrir in a place like this…"

I was about to ask about them, but he began again before I could start. "They're a story for another time though. For now, I believe you have my key, Naegi" he said matter-of-factly, immediately thrusting out a hand for me to give him the key, "You hardly thought you'd get away with stealing it, did you?"

Asahina let out a gasp at the accusation before turning to me. "You stole a key?! Naegi, why?" Although I would hardly call it stealing, it hardly did my case any good. With a mumble of 'I didn't steal it', I fished the key from my pocket and placed it into his hand.

Satisfied that he had gotten that what he wanted, he walked off. As we watched incredulously, he stopped in the door frame before turning around. "Are you going to follow or what?" he groaned, crossing his arms in irritation before disappearing.

Looking back to Asahina, she shrugged and gestured to follow. I wouldn't have said no anyway, but nevertheless, I had a feeling something was about to go wrong. Following her out, I noticed something else too, left during the culprit's rush. The missing master key had been left in the lock. This time, I was sure that nobody had seen me put it in my pocket.

"I thought so. This is the key to the AV room" Togami had stated, having managed to unlock the door with the key. With a creek, the door swung open to reveal something none of us had expected.

"This… Are these all from the security cameras? We've been being watched?" Asahina squeaked, nervously looking around at all the monitors displaying various parts of the school. In one, Hagakure could be seen mumbling something like Kirigiri's last rites whilst crouching beside her. In another, Fukawa could be seen lingering on the fifth floor, leaning against the door to the locked biology lab.

Unlike the others, my attention had been drawn towards the TV screen and antennae sitting in the middle of the room, ready to use. With a press of a button, the screen flickered to life only to show us static. Unfortunate, but maybe someone could fix it.

"It's safe to assume that this room is that of the mastermind" Togami announced to no one in particular. Whilst I fiddled with the TV's settings, he had walked off towards a door decorated with Monokuma's face. He wiggled the doorknob, only to find that it was locked. However, the clunking sound of the lock was enough to make me realise I could open it.

Walking up to the door, trying not to look smug as I did what Togami could not, I inserted the black master key into the door and unlocked it. Togami glared at me the entire time, before barging past me into the room, muttering about 'Kirigiri's trust' being misplaced.

Much like the last room, it was filled with screens. However, this time, it was almost closet sized and looked like something out of a western science-fiction film. Under the monitors was control module for something. The paw prints and face plastered on the screens help to identify what exactly it did control.

"So this is how Monokuma works. I must say, I'm disappointed that such a robot is being controlled with such cheap, low tech equipment" Togami added, for no particular reason except for making his feelings known. He went straight for a pile of papers on a table beside the module, his expression showing that it was something important.

Peering around his slender frame, I recognised the smart, printed handwriting as Kirigiri's, and immediately began reading.

 _Mukuro Ikusaba:  
Wolf Tattoo (Fenrir?)  
Freckled, Round Eyes  
_ _Mastermind (?)_ _  
Biology Lab, Freezer 5A  
Twin Sister (?)_

As I continued to read the missing pages of Kirigiri's notebook, more information came to light about Ikusaba. She had been suspected of having connections inside Hope's Peak Academy, as the talent scouts had been asked to observe her rather than generally looking for talent. These connections had also made her the subject of conspiracies linking her to various terrorist organisations. However, one conspiracy seemed to stand out in Kirigiri's notes. Super High School Level Despair.

 **[Updated Ammo: reloaded "Kirigiri's Notebook" into your ElectroID]  
[Updated Ammo: reloaded "Mukuro Ikusaba" into your ElectroID]**

"Seems Kirigiri was investigating behind our backs. And to think, I had thought she was the puppet master. I must have overestimated her." Togami had again thought aloud, but this time it bothered me a little. She may have been mysterious and detached, but she had been trying to help us escape.

Putting down the key for a second, I tried to distract myself by investigating the control panel. The technology looked complicated, but a few of the buttons had been labelled with various actions and room names. However, before I could test anything out, Togami interrupted me.

"I don't exactly know what you are trying to do, but please refrain from causing the school to collapse on us. That would not be a very satisfying end to this pathetic ordeal" he groaned, shooing me away from the controls. Backing away, I almost tripped on a trapdoor in the floor.

I would have tried opening it, but there was no lock to try to open. Deciding that everything to be found in this room had been found, I left, soon followed by Togami. However, as the door to the control room swung shut, a loud metal clunk could be heard. The lock had shut again.

"So if this is the puppet master's room, where is the puppet master?" Togami questioned, letting Asahina and I in on his thought process. It was a good enough question: Monokuma had been unresponsive all day, to the point where nobody discovery announcement had even been made.

However, nobody had time to even answer before a distress Hagakure had come running into the room. "I beg of you! Save me, dudes! Oh God… Oh Gods… I've not been a bad person, right? Save me!" To say the least, Asahina and I stood stunned by the surprise as he ran towards the control room door and wiggled the locked door as he tried to escape.

As we looked on, something at the back of my head ate away at me. What had Hagakure run away from? However, my body froze and a chill ran down my spine as that question was answered…

"Upupupu~ I got him good, didn't I? All I had to do was say 'boo!'" Monokuma gloated, his high pitched voice grating away at my nerves. I had honestly thought he was gone. "Hey, Naegi! Thanks for the key, you bastard! Dahaha~"

Instinctively, I reached down to my pocket, to find he was telling the truth. By accident, I'd left the key in the control room. And since Monokuma was full functional once again, it could only mean the mastermind was only feet away from us, locked inside the control room.

"Ah, it been two beary long years, but you ain't got rid of me yet. Ain't that despairific?!" Monokuma cackled, as we all look on at the bear we had all thought we'd seen the last of. However, he seemed to have had a change in personality.

"What do you mean two years? It's only been 12 hours!" Asahina squeaked, hiding behind a few computer monitors with Hagakure, who seemed to be mumbling charms. Like them, the surprise was hard to take. I could barely keep myself on my feet, and if the slight shifts in posture were any indication, Togami was trying to cope as well.

"I'd tell you, but that'd ruin the surprise! But since you're all here…" the bear said, his voice full of confidence and joy as he removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a remote control, "I've got a hint for you all! All I have to do are say the magic words…."

Pointing the TV remote towards the TV screen, he started chanting. "Hey Presto, Alakazam, Hocus Pocus! Open Seasame! Abra Kadabra!" Clicking the button on the top of the remote, the static suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by an image. It was us, standing around the television.

We all got closer, unable to believe our eyes. The TV was showing the images from the security camera above us, but if all it was connected to was an antenna then it should be showing TV shows rather than security footage.

Suddenly, Monokuma's face appeared on screen, leading to a surprised yelp from Asahina. "Ah, so much despair… that's what the bear ordered. The lack of hope! The surrender to despair! No more future for you bastards!"

"H-huh? It's not over, dude? I-I thought we were going to break out of here?" Hagakure stammered, still hiding behind the desks.

"Of course not! Now, here's the kicker! There's something special about that TV over there. Now, why do you bastards think you're on TV?" he laughed, sparing none of us from his mysterious questioning, "Eeeh, Time's up! It's because you really are on TV! Every channel is you guys and this school life of mutual killing!"

As if to emphasise his point, he surfed through channel, none of them showing any difference between them. "You- You hijacked the broadcast signals?! How?!" Togami yelled, the surprise obvious on his face for once.

"You make it sound hard! All you have to do is know a few tricks and the world is your beautiful despair-filled oyster! Think about it! This whole time, all your despair has been broadcast all over the world from Tokyo to Los Angeles!"

I don't think any of us could believe what we were hearing. It was far from over, all the stress and tension we had lost in finding Monokuma inactive had been regained tenfold, and that fact was evident on everyone's face.

"T-that's impossible! It can't be! Help would have come by now, people would have saved us!" Asahina screeched, denying any possibility that we really wouldn't ever escape. Monokuma, however, expected this.

"Save you? Upupupu… the cavalry didn't even come close! They were stopped the minute they even thought about helping!" His cackling rang around the room, stunning us all. It couldn't be true. None of it could be… but what proof did I have otherwise? "Wow, you guys really don't know what happened in the outside world, do you? And I even went so far as to leave hints around the school for you. You're making me despair now…"

"What happened…What happened?! Tell me!" Togami shouted, finally losing control of his rising urge to get angry. It was made even worse by Monokuma hopping onto a table and laughing directly in his face.

"Uh-uh! That's a secret… now, you've got your own mystery to solve, so let's play a game I like to called: Who killed Kirigiri?!" Monokuma just wouldn't stop laughing, and Togami's knuckles slowly turned white as he clenched his fists.

"And now over to Monokuma for the weather!" the bear yelled, pointing directly at the nearest monitor, and drawing all our attention towards it as it flickered on, accompanied by the ominous ringing.

 _Diiiing Doooong… Diiiing Doooong…_

 _"We've got a corpse here! We'll be having a class trial pretty soon, so make use of the time you've got!"_

With a sigh, I accepted it. It was inevitable that Kirigiri would get a trial, but part of me just wanted it to never happen. I wasn't sure we could cope without her reasoning skills at the trial, let alone without her detective skills and all the evidence she could explain.

"Wait. Why are we holding a trial, if **you** are the culprit? We didn't hold one for Enoshima's death" Togami asked, his anger evident but he was doing his best to still come across as the calm and collected student we knew.

"Upupupu~ As the rules state, if a student kills another student, then a class trial will be held to determine the culprit!" Monokuma announced, staring at me the entire time, "after all, it wouldn't be fair to not allow the culprit's murder to go without trial. Right, Naegi?"

Even if his eyes weren't real, his gaze pierced through me with deadly power. I could only manage a faint nod, frozen as he continued to stare. Then he laughed again. "Upupupu~ I think I almost made poor Naegi wet himself! Wouldn't want to make you look like a killer any more than you do already! "

Having broken eye contact, I felt my whole body relax and regain the ability to move. Letting out a deep breath I'd been holding, I looked around to see how everyone else was holding up. They too were staring at me, curiosity and suspicion in their eyes, but as I caught each of their gazes, they turned away.

He did it. He planted the seed of doubt into their mind and now they can't stop thinking about it.

"Now, I think that's enough time…"

 _Diiiing Doooong… Diiiing Doooong…_

 _What?_

 _"As gradual as it may be, time constantly erodes away at every living thing, material and phenomenon."_

 _We needed more time…_

 _"Little by little, damage is inflicted upon each of us… and we need to be more mindful of it."_

 _We needed more evidence…_

 _"So to that end, time's up! It's time for a Claaaass Triaaaal!"_

 _We need Kirigiri…_

 _"Anyway, you guys, get your rears in gear and meet at the usual place…"_

I need Kirigiri…

With the end of that announcement, Monokuma disappeared, his laughter haunting the room. In his place, the last piece of evidence we'd find was left. Monokuma File 05. Without skipping a beat, I grabbed it and opened it up to read it.

 _Victim: Kyouko Kirigiri  
Location of Victim: Headmaster's Office, Fourth Floor  
Time of Death: 3am  
Report:  
There is bruising on the back and neck, as well as several fractured ribs and blunt force trauma to the back of the head. However, all these injuries are non-fatal and occurred in the time before the victim was murdered. The knife pierced through the abdomen, damaging the several vital organs and spine._

 **[New Ammo: loaded "Monokuma File 05" into your ElectroID]**

Before I could read any further, the file was snatched from my hands by Togami. I was getting pretty sick of it, and even tried to glare angrily at him, but he walked off without noticing. "Hmph, I'd like to read this for myself rather than hear it second hand from the likes of you" he grunted before walking out the room.

As Hagakure saw him leave, he immediately followed at more than a brisk pace. Asahina got up too, glancing behind herself at me, yet unable to maintain eye contact, her head drooped and left me by myself.

I... I don't remember much of what happened last night but I couldn't have killed Kirigiri. Right? I couldn't have…

No, now's not the time to be doubting myself. I can't lose hope. I have to find a way.

I do almost anything to have Kirigiri by my side right about now…


	5. Fade to Black - Evidence Recap

**Wooden Fragments**  
A variety of splinters and wooden dust coats the back of Kirigiri's jacket and the back of her head, as well as some that lay spread out by her feet. There are a few splinters which have gone through the jacket, despite the jacket's thickness.

 **Head Wound**  
A shallow cut to the back of the head has led to a small amount of bleeding. Similar to the wounds on the neck, the cut was most likely caused by contact with a sharp edge. This wound is also surrounded by wooden fragments, similar to those on her jacket and at her feet.

 **Knife Wound**  
Kirigiri's abdomen has been stabbed quite deeply with a knife. However, there is no obvious blood around the wound or on the knife. The survival knife that was used is the one I was entrusted with by the others to keep safe.

 **Absence of Blood**  
With the exception of the cut to the head, there is minimal amounts of blood near any of the wounds. There is no apparent explanation for such a miniscule amount of bleeding, except that the knife may have plugged the wound and prevented more blood from escaping.

 **Neck Wounds**  
The scratches on the sides of the neck have caused a little blood to escape. Similar to the head, the cuts seem to have been caused by scraping a sharp edge. However, these cuts seem to be a little deeper than the one on the head. There is also faint bruising encircling the neck.

 **Red Fragments**  
It is hard to tell what it may have been but it was something small, red and shiny. It was broken when I and Togami stepped on it. The color looks like it's been painted on.

 **Kirigiri's Photo**  
A young Kirigiri is depicted next to a man in a suit with the Hope's Peak Academy crest sewn onto the chest. The caption states _Jin and Kyouko Kirigiri, November 2001_ in neat handwriting. They look vaguely similar…

 **Scarlet Bow**  
Found in Kirigiri's hand, it was probably ripped from the culprit's clothes or hair.

 **78th Class Profiles**  
A folder containing profiles for the participants in this School Life of Mutual Killing, even me. We all look younger than we do now, but I don't remember ever posing for my photo. In addition, some pages seem to have been ripped from the folder and others have small, neatly handwritten notes by the headmaster.

 **Letter to Kirigiri**  
A letter from the desk of the Headmaster, from Kirigiri's father. It says that he had locked us in this school for our own protection. The scruffily written letter is stained by some sort of red ink or paint.

 **Super High School Level Despair**  
Kirigiri told me that Mukuro Ikusaba was the SHSL Despair, however, her father seems to believe it was a group if his letter is to be believed.

 **Trail of Splinters**  
A trail of the wooden fragments seems to have been left between Kirigiri and the table, which have also scratched the floor. There is also a pile of wooden fragments in the debris of the broken table.

 **78th Class Photos**  
Most likely on the table before it was broken, they were hidden amongst the pile of wooden fragments. Many of us are depicted in them, doing normal class activities or messing about in an empty classroom without iron panels on the windows. A few of them contain Mukuro Ikusaba.

 **Mukuro Ikusaba**  
Super High School Level Soldier and Super High School Level Despair. She is the missing sixteenth student. A member of the mercenaries, Fenrir, and labelled dangerous by the headmaster. Kirigiri has written that she's located in the Biology Lab Freezers, isn't the mastermind and has might have a twin sister. Maybe that's why she looks and sounds familiar…

 **Bloody Table**  
The table was broken in half, leaving a pile of debris and wooden fragments. The end nearest the desk has blood on it, which seems to have happened with quick a lot of force.

 **Monokuma's Stolen Treasure**  
A Master Key which can open any door in the school, apparently. It was used to break into Kirigiri's room, and probably the Headmaster's office too.

 **Break-ins**  
My room was broken into, as well as Kirigiri's. However, the lock to my door was tampered with whereas Kirigiri's room was opened with the Master Key. According to Asahina, Kirigiri's room was broken into after my own. Both had something taken (my knife and pages from Kirigiri's notebook).

 **Kirigiri's notebook**  
The first pages are filled with notes from the previous murders. Information on Mukuro Ikusaba was stolen from the notebook, including information on conspiracies on having connections inside the school and notes on the group, Super High School Level Despair.

 **Monokuma File 05**  
Victim: Kyouko Kirigiri  
Location of Victim: Headmaster's Office, Fourth Floor  
Time of Death: 3am  
Report: The body has several fractured ribs and blunt force trauma over the back of the head, neck and torso. However, all these injuries are non-fatal and occurred in the time before the victim was murdered. A knife had pierced through the abdomen, damaging the several vital organs and spine.


	6. When Life gives you Lemons, Despair

The large red doors that lead to the lobby just stare me in the face, as I tried to find the will to go through them and into what seemed to be an abyss filled to the brim with tangled evidence and problems with no solution. Worst of all, the one who had known all the answers was gone, her murder made into the one of the very mysteries that surrounded her.

With a deep breath, I found a way to put on foot in front of the other and push my way through. As I looked into the room, all my friends had already gathered around the entrance to the lift, but I already knew that. I had taken the scenic route, hoping to get one last look into the Headmaster's office before we started, but I had immediately been interrupted by Monokuma as I walked past the second floor staircase. Apart from a brief glare from Togami, no-one paid any attention to my entrance, all too wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"Upupu~ I've seen happier people at funerals. Oh wait…" Monokuma cackled, appearing from behind me. It would have made me jump and I'm sure a few of the others too had we not already gotten used to his antics. "Wow, tough crowd. Alright, we're finally all together, so let's get this trial rolling!"

Without rising a response from us, I suppose he just didn't find any fun in sticking around to pester us some more. He disappeared with the same ease as he appeared, and with that, the elevator arrived. The clank of the iron doors opening awoke us all from our downtrodden daydreaming and we filled in.

As I made my own way in, I finally hit me with just how many people we'd lost. The elevator, once crowded enough that you couldn't see the door through the crowd, was now very empty. Everyone else seemed to realise too as I finally caught eye contact with Asahina and Hagakure, but as soon as I did, they turned away. I looked at the floor, my mind racing through all the evidence, all the possibilities and seemingly all the memories of Kirigiri and the pillar of strength she was in the trials. She had been the one that everybody had relied on, but now someone else needed to take up that mantle.

I had often been shivering out of worry as we descended into the courtroom for a trial, but now, I was standing unfazed, the worry having faded then further we descended. I wanted to say I knew why, but I could only guess that maybe I had finally gotten used to the fear of the unknown, but that didn't explain the rising confidence in my chest as my mind continued to dwell of Kirigiri.

For what must have been the first time today, I smiled. I don't know why I hadn't seen it until now, but she wasn't gone. She was still with me through everything she'd taught me. I was ready. I hadn't even noticed the elevator moving until the ding of the opening doors caught my attention.

* * *

"This is the final courtroom?" I asked, staring at the grey walls that surrounded us. The courtroom was made of concrete and steel supports. Apart from the monitors on the wall, it was very dull and bland opposed to all the fancy decors that had littered the previous rooms.

"Eh, what can I say? You bastards got here faster than I thought! I didn't even have time to decorate…" Monokuma said, matter-of-factly. Everyone but myself ignored his antics, all robotically moving into their places. As I did the same, I also noticed one other thing, but Togami was the first to voice his concern.

"Oy, why is the sixteenth seat blocked off? Answer me." Monokuma only cackled at the question, as everyone's attention was directed towards the smaller seat sitting in front of Monokuma's throne.

"It's just a precaution. You see, I felt like there should be a seat for me since you guys are running out of people to accuse fast. If I have a seat, you guys should at least be able to stall for a few minutes while I prove myself innocent!"

With a huff, Togami accepted the answer he was given as the usual drivel Monokuma would spout. With silence emerging again, I was about to take the opportunity to start off the discussions, but again, I was beaten to the punch.

"So, there's something I wanted to clear up. Weren't we all together last night?" Asahina said, looking fairly confused.

"Hey, that's right!" Hagakure called, "Toges sent me to wake everyone up after he found Monokuma in the gym, and then we were there all night dismantling him."

I myself was about to point out the problem before Togami did it for me. "I think you're forgetting someone. There was one person who wasn't with us last night. Isn't that right, Naegi?"

Fukawa then interrupted before I could answer him. "T-that's right. S-so he must be the killer, right?"

It took me a little by surprise how quickly I'd been put on the back foot to defend myself. "You've got that wrong! I didn't kill anybody. I went to bed early the night before because I had a fever, then I didn't hear Asahina knocking last night because I was asleep."

"Hmph, you seemed completely fine to me yesterday," Togami stated, no hesitation present, "However, it would be hard to prove you didn't have a fever…"

I wanted to sigh in relief, but Togami didn't stop there. "What's not so hard to prove would be that the murder weapon was very much in your possession yesterday. I believe everyone should have recognised it."

I looked around the room at everyone's faces. It was clear that they all did in fact recognise it as the one they'd entrusted me, but they hadn't seemed to have wanted to accept it.

"Upupu~ So Naegi's the one with the weapon and no alibi? I say we vote for him now and save him the trouble of explaining himself" Monokuma suggested, an evil glint in his eye.

"Wait a second, guys. Someone broke into my room this morning and they took the knife. I know I had it this morning."

It was then I saw Asahina remember. "That's true. I heard someone breaking in to the rooms earlier, then I went to get Naegi, who was still in the office at the time."

"And Naegi didn't leave the Headmaster's Office until you ran in and made a racket. I suppose that means he can't have broken into his own room," Togami pondered aloud, "It's far from being in the clear but it is curious."

Finally, a chance at relief, but we didn't have time for that. "Guys, I also wanted to ask. There's a bit of a problem with the Monokuma File, isn't there?"

"What do you mean, dude? I don't see no problems."

"I assume you mean the fact that it neglects to mention the cause of death" Togami said, "Since you've brought that up, I imagine you're going to tell us that the lack of detail is a trap."

"A t-trap?"

"That's what I thought. Why is the file so vague about what killed her?"

"You're saying that because it's meant to fool us then, Naegs?"

"But it was obviously then knife wound. Right?"

"No, the knife wound was there just to shock us into thinking that's what killed her."

"There wasn't very much blood, if you think about it. You've all seen a stab wound before. She should have been covered in a lot more blood, right?"

It was at this moment, we all took a step back. I received a few glances as people began to question whether I was actually just defending myself with some farfetched evidence, but they soon looked away.

"Upupu~, a stab wound and a load of blood. Naegi's shower won't ever be the same again! You don't think he did it again, do you?"

"Hey, we solved that murder already. Don't confuse us, dude."

"S-so how did s-she die then?"

"It should be obvious. Tell them, Naegi."

"Oh, well. You only need to look at the Monokuma File. There's only one of the injuries missing: the scratches and bruising on her neck."

"And that should lead to the obvious conclusion of how she was killed."

"Bruising on the neck? Naegi, you don't think that Kirigiri might have been…"

"Strangled to death. Yes. The scratches around her neck are also evidence of the fact."

"But that doesn't explain the other wounds and the blood. Being strangled wouldn't do all that to her."

"The only wound other than the knife would is the trauma on the back of her head, which has a small amount of blood. It's likely the result of hitting it."

"I just don't get it, dudes. How did someone kill Kirigiri? She was hardly weak, so she would have fought back, wouldn't she?"

It was slightly confusing why she wouldn't fight back against her attacker. However, what if it wasn't a matter of didn't, but a matter of couldn't'. "A way she wouldn't fight back? What about if she was unconscious?"

"With the head trauma, it's highly likely she at least had a concussion. That would have led to her being in a weakened state."

"I don't mean to ruin the flow, guys, but what about the broken table, eh? Surely there must have been a fight. I don't think Kirigiri was that much of a klutz."

"T-that's true. There must have been a fight then! I b-bet the culprit played really dirty. First, they p-pushed her down onto the table, and then they f-forced their way on top of her…."

"Don't waste your breath. We don't need to hear that filth spew from your mouth."

"Wait, Togami. I agree with Fukawa."

"Huh? Y-you're agreeing with me?!"

"There was blood on the end of the table. I think that could be what gave Kirigiri her head trauma. If someone had pushed her onto the table, she might have hit her head. Since there wasn't anything else with blood on, that's the only possibility, right?"

"Hey, yeah. If someone laid on top of her, then that would have been enough force to break the table too. Right, guys?"

"There were also a load of splinters on her back, and scratches on the floor as if someone had dragged her to the desk. In fact. The splinters in her hair and the head wound are probably evidence that she was pushed through the table first."

With Asahina's backing, it seemed everyone was convinced that they'd been some contact between the Kirigiri and the culprit. We'd also managed to discover the real cause of death. It was needless to say, but I definitely had a little more hope than before.

"I believe it is time to address how she entered the Headmaster's Office, and I believe it fairly obvious. After all, she was the mastermind."

"…huh?"

"…Kirigiri, the mastermind? You've got to be kidding me…"

"Yeah, dude. Don't you think that's a little…"

"A little too convenient. After all, the Headmaster's office was locked. She also managed to steal some sort of treasure from Monokuma. I find it hard to believe she just happened upon it."

"M-my White Knight knows what he's saying. There wasn't a-any other way for Kirigiri to get into the office."

"You've got that wrong! I mean, don't you remember what she took from Monokuma?"

"Mukuro Ikusaba's Student Profile."

"...Actually, she also took a master key to the whole building. She took it from the Headmaster's Office which Oogami broke into. Remember her suicide note."

As I said that, I pulled the key from my pocket to show Togami what I was talking about. Immediately, he walked around and snatched it from my hand. Immediately, he snarled at me.

"And how long were you planning to withhold this from us, Naegi? How long have you had this?"

"I found it in the lock to Kirigiri's room. Someone used it to break in."

"So you took it without us knowing?!"

"Uh, Toges? You're getting awfully worked up about this."

"…Whatever. Why don't we talk about why Kirigiri even turned up at the Headmaster's Office? She'd obviously already been there."

I was a little worried at that reaction, but I suppose it wasn't the first time he'd had a reaction to being wrong.

"I reckon Kirigiri was doing some investigating, right?"

"If she was killed there, then don't you think she might have been meeting someone there?"

"The letter. There was a letter addressed to Kirigiri."

"A letter? From who was from, dude?"

"Finally, we get to the interesting part. The letter was from Kirigiri's father. Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster."


	7. Despair is the Best Medicine

"…"

"…"

"Huh?"

"Did you just say-"

"Yes, Hope's Peak Academy's Headmaster. Jin Kirigiri. Were you not aware of that?"

"T-that's crazy, dude. Kirigiri would have told us that."

"Eh, it is a little hard to believe she would have kept that from us. I mean, even Naegi didn't know that, and he was probably the closest to Kirigiri out of all of us."

"Hmph, it isn't that hard to work out. Remember back to when Alter Ego was stolen by Yasuhiro?"

"Hey, I never stole him. It was Celes, dude. I though we got that cleared up already."

"Not you, you idiot. Need I remind you that her last name was Yasuhiro?"

"Oh yeah."

"Anyhow, it was then I accused the headmaster of being the mastermind, and I believe it was Kirigiri who defended him without evidence."

I took a moment to reflect on what I remember on that conversation. On only a feeling, she had refused to accept that the headmaster had been the one to lock us in the school and force us into this 'game' as Togami referred to it as. It had been very unlike Kirigiri to be so close minded and on only a hunch.

"She also had a picture of them together. The man was wearing a suit with the Hope's Peak crest, and was labelled with both their names."

"You see, we also now have evidence that the headmaster was in fact the person who locked us in this school. It is safe to say that her curiosity likely got the better of her."

"There was a letter I found in the bin. It was from her dad, apologising for trapping us here for our own protection."

"Our own protection?!"

"We've been anything but safe here, dude!"

"Quiet. Her father also mentioned a group known as Super High School Level Despair. He was trying to lead her right back to him, by luring her to his office with promise of evidence."

"I can't believe they tricked her, dudes."

It did seem a little strange. Kirigiri knew about dangers of sneaking around behind the mastermind's back, so why would she be fooled by a letter?

"Actually, I think she knew. She was willing to take the risk to uncover the mystery. It's-"

"Not important. The only reason we go through everything else is to find the culprit. Since we know who did it, that's all that matters. The headmaster lured her to his office with the letter, and killed her."

"Wait."

"What now, Naegi?"

"I still think we should go through everything. Just to be sure."

"And why should we waste time doing that? We have all the evidence which points to the mastermind being the culprit and multiple pieces of evidence that point to the mastermind being the culprit. Case closed."

"Y-you heard him, Naegi. I have to agree w-with my white knight."

"I think I'm with Togami too, Naegi. It hardly seems like anything will change."

"Yeah, dude. I think we've done what we needed to do. Let's not waste any more time on this, eh?"

Done what we needed to do? Have we? Is it over? It can't be…

"You've got that wrong! We don't know everything yet."

"Stop. What else could we possibly need to do?"

"…we need to find the real culprit."

"The real culprit? Do you have any reason to suspect that it wasn't the headmaster?"

"Kirigiri. She didn't think it was him."

"You mean, the feeling she had. The one based on nothing but a misguided belief."

"Naegi, I'm sure Kirigiri was just protecting her dad."

"Then why wouldn't she say that he was her dad?"

"Naegi. Do you honestly believe this is worth pursuing?"

"…Yes."

"Very well then. Is there any legitimate reason for you to be questioning the evidence?"

"Wait. Toges. Are we really-"

"We are. Now, Naegi. What do you think is wrong with the evidence?"

"The handwriting is different."

"Different handwriting? You mean, like how you proved Celes tried to frame me?"

"The handwriting on the letter is scruffy, but the notes the headmaster wrote on the picture and our class profiles are neat."

"C-class… profiles? Ah, d-did they have pictures?! Nononono…"

"Quiet, Fukawa. Hmph, there is a difference. I suppose you think that someone else tried to frame the headmaster?"

"I think so."

"This is all very troubling. Who else could it be? I think we should clear something up, too. Oi, Monokuma. Who else is in this building?"

"W-what? I fell asleep" Monokuma shouted, immediately sitting up straight at the mention of his name, "Do I get to murder somebody yet?"

"Tell us: who else is in this school?" Togami asked, "Who could possibly be the mastermind?"

Monokuma looked at him in silence for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Upupu~ you think I'd tell you that?! And you all think I'm out of my mind!"

The laughter echoed around the concrete courtroom as we all looked on. "All right, all right. I think you guys earned a hint. The only people present for the duration of this academic coliseum were the sixteen stud-"

"Wait, Sixteen?! Weren't there only fiftee-"

"Knock. Knock."

"Huh?"

"Knock. Knock."

"Eh, w-who's there?"

"Interrupting Bear."

"Interrupting B-"

" **Rawr!"**

"…"

"…"

"Aww, phooey. That one usually kills at the conventions…"

"Anyway, I believe the bear has just confirmed that only the sixteen of us could be the mastermind."

"But, sixteen? That's not right, dude."

"There was a sixteenth student. Mukuro Ikusaba. Super High School Level Soldier and a member of Super High School Level Despair.

"Soldier? Despair?! You don't think…"

"It's unlikely she is the mastermind, either."

"Wait, dude. Why not? She's a soldier, so she ought to be able to sneak around, eh?"

"I can answer that too. Kirigiri left some notes, which said she had found her and didn't think she was the mastermind."

"To be more exact, it said she was located in the freezer 5A. I'm sure you can figure that one out without the need for spoon feeding."

"If she has been there all this time… she probably died."

"But w-what about the m-master key? If she had it, s-she could have been moving about."

"Highly improbable. Had Kirigiri met Ikusaba in the biology lab when Ikusaba was alive, she would have no reason to not kill her then and there."

"Uh, can I ask something, dudes? If Ikusaba and Kirigiri's dad aren't the mastermind, then does that mean that one of us are the culprit?"

"…"

Asahina's right. If it can't have been someone we hadn't yet met, then it could only have been one of the people we met that very first day. The silence hung in the air as everyone began to become suspicious on one another.

"No."

"What was that, Naegi? I didn't quite catch your denial."

"I said no. I don't believe one of us could be the mastermind."

"Beliefs? Feelings? I'm sure you bastards are just messing with me now."

"Naegi, dude, I… It can't be anyone else. There's no-one but us still alive."

"Hmph, I wondered about that myself. Is everyone else really gone?"

"Huh? Togami?"

"Think. If we are all here, then who is controlling Monokuma?"

"I-Isn't he just one of t-those AI?"

"Then why was he inactive when we found him last night? Why is there a control centre hidden in the AV room?"

"Ah, shot down so thoroughly by my white knight…"

"But who else could it be? Everyone else is dead."

"It's not a ghost, is it? Please don't let it be a ghost…"

"If it is one of the ten students we know have died, we simply need to ask ourselves which it could be that faked their own death."

"H-how are we meant to do that? We all saw their bodies…"

"No, we didn't see one body. Mukuro Ikusaba."

"But, dude, didn't we already say that she wasn't the mastermind, eh?"

"Yes, but there something strange about the evidence."

"With the evidence?"

"Did anyone notice anything strange in Kirigiri's notes?"

Kirigiri's notes? Was there something unusual in her notes?

"Do you mean Ikusaba having a twin sister?"

"That does seem a little weird that Kirigiri would mention that…"

"I believe she has had a reason. Naegi, would you look at Ikusaba's profile again?"

Ikusaba's profile? What's wrong with it?

"Look familiar?"

Following Togami's advice, I looked at the photo attached to the profile. It didn't hit me until I looked into her eyes. Almost simultaneously, I heard a few mutterings from around me.

"Dude, that's weird. I feel like I've seen her before."

"Yeah, me too."

"That's why I brought it up. I believe we've already met her sibling. But before I go any further, I want to clarify something. Fukawa, come here."

"Eh? M-me? What c-could my Byakuya want with me?" Fukawa yelped, quickly making her way over to Togami so as to not keep him waiting. Togami then dug into his pocket and pulled something out, much to Fukawa's distress.

"W-why do y-you have some o-other girl's nails in y-your pocket? I b-bet it was the big breasted whor-"

"So the fragments were fake red nails? I believe that narrows down the suspects to the girls."

"Wait, could they have been Kirigiri's nails?"

"No, Kirigiri wore gloves all the time. She wouldn't be able to wear nails too."

"Correct, Naegi."

"So, who wore nails, eh? I don't remember if any of the girls did."

"That's right. Sakura and I didn't wear nails, and I'm pretty sure Celestia painted hers black."

"D-don't look at me. Red nails a-are hideous and would m-make it hard to write with…"

"...Maizono never wore fake nails."

"So who's left, dudes? Who's the mastermind?"

As I looked around the courtroom at all the plaque commemorating our dead friends, my eyes fell upon the last remaining suspect we had.

"Enoshima. Junko Enoshima."

"Hmph, exactly. I believe your little game is up, Monokuma. Are you willing to concede?"

"…"

"…"

"Nope. You're forgetting something. A little thing I like to call motive. Why would I kill her?"

"Motive? I expected you to make this harder, Monokuma."

"…"

"Very well, we know that Kirigiri stole that key from you. It's entirely possible you killed her just to get it back."

"Harder? Oh, I'm just getting started. And besides, I never limited your freedom to investigate. Of course, I kept a few doors locked so I could have a little privacy, but I never said you couldn't steal a key to those doors. It even made it a little more exciting to our viewers out there."

"…hmph."

"W-what else could there be though?"

"Actually, I think you were worried about Kirigiri's investigation."

"Oh, and how so, Naegi?"

"You knew Kirigiri had discovered Mukuro, because you saw her in the biology lab. You saw that she had written down notes to share with us as well."

"Egads!"

"You didn't want Kirigiri to tell us about her discoveries, because we'd have been able to work out that Ikusaba had died, instead of you, Enoshima."

"Eh, Enoshima? Who's Enoshima? Do I know her?"

"After you killed her, you took the master key, because Togami had her room key, and stole her notes, which we found in your control room."

"I was framed, see! Ask anybody!"

"Quiet, you're done here."

"All that's left is to go over the case and finish this off."

"I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

"At the very beginning of all this, for some unknown reason, the sixteen students were locked in this school. The culprit saw this as an opportunity to set us all up in a game where we all killed one another with the promise of escape."

"Everything was going according to the culprit's plan until Kirigiri stole two things from the headmaster's office: a key which could unlock any room in the building and a profile on Mukuro Ikusaba, the Super High School Level Soldier."

"Using this key, she explored all the inaccessible areas while we were asleep. When the culprit saw her exploring, they began to realise that she was beginning to learn the truth and could stop them. So they decided to kill her and take her notes, to prevent any of us from finding what she had found."

"First, they forged a letter from the headmaster, luring Kirigiri to the headmaster's office with the promise of evidence on Super High School Level Despair, a group she had previously found out about when she stole Mukuro's profile. This letter was then slipped somewhere for her to find."

"When she made it to the office, the culprit ambushed her and pushed her through the nearby table. Kirigiri, taken by surprise, hit her head and gained a concussion, making her unable to fight back."

"They strangled her to death, and dragged her body to the desk, leaving a trail of scratches and splinters. They took the master key she had on her, replacing it with the AV key, since we knew she had stolen a key already. They also took the letter and threw it away, so we wouldn't find it on her."

"Knowing they needed to frame somebody, they broke into my room and stole the knife I had been entrusted with, knowing it was almost infallible as evidence against me. They attempted to cover their tracks by breaking in rather than unlocking it with the key and by emptying all my drawers, so as not to clue us into who had broken in."

"However, they were almost interrupted by Asahina. Having found my broken lock, she ran to find me, giving the culprit the opportunity to enter Kirigiri's room and steal her notes. Asahina and I almost stumbled across the culprit again, so they had to leave quickly, leaving the key behind."

"Having escaped being found by myself and Asahina, they returned to the scene of the crime to complete their plan, by stabbing Kirigiri's body with the knife, to confuse the cause of death. The culprit is the person who controls Monokuma and the mastermind behind the School Life of Mutual Killing."

"And that's you, Junko Enoshima!"


	8. Despair Springs Eternal

"...you bastards just don't know when to quit, do you? Looks like it's time for the final boss…"

"You're finished, Enoshima. You've been exposed as the culprit and there is little you can do to persuade us otherwise."

"…beep."

"What was that?"

"Beep."

"T-togami, I'd take a step back if I were you."

"Beep. Beep."

"So he's rigged himself to explode again? I hope you don't think this counts as your execution, Enoshima."

"Beep. Beep. Beep."

"Togami! Move!"

"Hmph, fine."

"BeepBeepBeepBeepBEEP."

"Duck!"

We all dropped to the floor, shielded from the explosion by our stands. It took us all a little by surprise, but instead of the massive explosion we had all expected, a party blower noise sounded out, accompanied by the cheers of children. The sound effect echoed for a moment, before Hagakure broke the silence.

"Eh, is it me or does anyone else feels like that was a bit anticli-"

Interrupting Hagakure's observation was the real explosion, throwing us all back a few steps as the shockwave hit. The courtroom had been filled with a fog of grey smoke, but in the distance, I could make out the silhouette of a girl standing directly where Monokuma had been.

It took a few seconds for the fog to clear completely, but when it had, we all stared at the figure in front of all, both a friend and a stranger at once.

"So these are the survivors of the School Life of Mutual Killing… I have been awaiting your arrival, mortals. Now, live up to my expectations and amuse me."

"Ugh, she's even more annoying than I thought she'd be."

"G-give it up, Enoshima. We all know you're the culprit so all we need to do is vote."

"Perhaps I underestimated you. Have you truly beaten me? Do you really think you've uncovered all the mysteries of this school? Do you really think that killing me is going to solve anything?"

"Nothing here matters. We've proven you're the culprit, and as one of the students of this game, you are to be executed immediately."

"Ah, he ignored me completely. Why did I ever think they would try and listen to me?"

"Woah. Her personality did a complete 180 there."

"I've been away for so long I've forgotten who I was. Controlling Monokuma, manipulating the headmaster, setting everything up. I hope I won't bore you."

"Wait up a second, guys. I think I recognise her."

"She does look kind of familiar, dude."

"Oh, so you met my big sis? Aw, I bet she look super-duper cool pretending to be me."

"Pretending to be… you?"

"Of course. That miserable waste of space wasn't really that good at it either. It's an insult that none of you even though that she wasn't me."

"W-why are you telling us all this?"

"Oh, it's a penalty for me not holding a trial for Mukuro. I believed it was only fair to hinder myself in both the name of despair. In addition to that, you no longer have the great detective Kirigiri amongst your ranks so you probably wouldn't be able to interpret the more subtle clues and hints I left lying around. See, you're already at a ginormous disadvantage here. I hate for it to end too quickly."

"There she goes again, dudes. All the different personalities are going to get confusing…"

"Different personalities? Hey, that's my endearing personality trait, pal!"

"Oh, I had forgotten you were there. I must be talking to Genocider Sho then?"

"Eh? When did she switch?"

"Oh, Ol' Gloomy just got her sinuses filled to the brim to smoke. What else did you expect to happen?"

"Very well then. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Genocider."

"Likewise, err… Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm the Mastermind."

"Mastermind, eh? I thought you'd be taller."

"Hmph, if we could get back to the trial on hand perhaps… You were saying we met Ikusaba disguised as you?"

"Yes, she was to act as me, while I played the mastermind, so as not to draw suspicion from one of the more famous members of class not showing up when you woke up."

"Ah, that's right. I saw you on all those magazine covers. So what Mukuro said was just a cover up?"

"A despairingly awful one at that too. It was almost pitiful that you weren't clued in almost immediately with her shoddy acting."

"I imagine then that killing her was you tying up loose ends."

"She didn't deserve even that. She was absolutely crap at her role, so I was waiting for one of you airheads to do it. Disappointingly, you bastards didn't even manage that, so I had to do your dirty work for you."

"H-how could you kill your own sister?!"

"Upupu~ with spears, of course. And I bet that such a useless, mind-numbingly boring death must have really caused her despair. I'm jealous. As Super High School Despair, we searched high and low for the depraved feeling of complete and utter despair, and now she went and hogged it all to herself. I didn't even get to feel anything as the spears drove right through her."

"That's- That's sick, dude. You didn't feel a thing killing her, your twin sister?"

"I'm sorry. I lied. Please forgive me. Of course, I felt something. I killed my own sister. It made me sad. It threw me into despair. Deadening despair, piercing despair, sickening despair. If I hadn't felt that, it wouldn't have been arousing. At least I feel that."

"How crude. I had no hope for normality, but for such a devious fetishist to appear…"

"Wow. I mean, Genocider is crazy in all, but this is a whole new level."

"Er, could you not pair me with someone with such a low body count? It makes what I've done sound less horrific."

"Excuse me, Missy, but just who has such a low body count?"

"Oh, that would be you. I mean, you've only killed 17 humans, whereas my actions have brought the world to its knees."

"You brought the world to its knees?"

"Foolish mortals. Do you really I think I wouldn't have done otherwise? In only two years, the hope of humankind has been reduced to but a few and thousands of cities lay in ruins."

"Hmph, there you go again with the two years thing."

"Oh yes, I wiped your memories, remember?"

"Wiped our memories?"

"It's incredibly boring if you're just going to repeat what I said. But yes, I did."

"As if we were to believe such nonsense."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so dismissive if I were you. After all, the Togami Conglomerate was one of the first to beg for mercy."

"My family? What could you possibly do to my family?"

"A lot of things actually. Burn them, crush them, electrocute them, hang th-"

"What has happened to my family?! Tell me the truth!"

"Toges, dude. Calm down."

"Oh, don't worry. They're all safely in th- oh wait, no. They're dead."

"Impossible! The Togami Conglomerate would never fall to such a half-arsed plot made up by a bimbo and her halfwit sister."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you feel bad, but you did ask for it. Your family were squashed quickly like bugs. At least they weren't waterboarded and drowned like Asahina's family over there."

"M-my family? W-what did you do to them?"

"Everybody calm down. She's lying."

"Togami… I-I don't think she is."

"And you prove she isn't, Naegi?"

"…The class photos."

"…"

"Naegs, what do you mean class photos? We haven't taken any pictures of all of us since we've been here."

"No, but there are a few pictures that exist of us. We've already seen some of them. I just want to ask again, no-one here knew anyone before coming here, right?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I probably would have recognised someone on the first day, if that wasn't the case."

"In the photos, we're all participating in activities, all sixteen students."

"All sixteen? But we only just discovered Mukuro was here?"

"Oy, be quiet. You're bringing the intelligence of the entire room down by just talking. So, Naegi, let me guess. No-one will remember these photos, and you'll use that as proof we actually did know each other. What does that prove?"

"I think it does show we knew each other but I don't think that's the most important thing. I think that the fact these photos exist proves that we might not remember the past."

"Bravo, Naegi. As I had previously said, I wiped your memories. As to how much I wiped, it was your memories from the last two years you've been at Hope's Peak Academy!"

"Huh? W-what are you talking about, dude?"

"She's talking about our classes, morons. What, you don't remember?"

"And you do?!"

"Wait… Are you fuckin' kidding me? Separate personalities need separate memory wipes?! Ah, crap."

"Huh, so Enoshima didn't even know?"

"Ah, well, that ruins the surprise. I suppose at least, I didn't have to wipe my own memories. That would have taken far too long. So, I guess you know that the world's been destroyed and this is the only safe place left then."

"Yep. Why'd you guys think I didn't kill anyone so as to leave? Super High School Level Serial Killer here, I would definitely have killed someone immediately if I hadn't known."

"Ah, all that wasted time planning the speeches about despair and the outside world… I might as well give you guys a look, if we're skipping all the dialogue…"

"…"

With a quick flicker, the monitors on each wall displayed a slide show of pictures ranging from defaced monuments to streets filled with rubble and mobs of masked rioters. As everyone looked up, they were froze up in realisation at that moment. The knowledge that the world outside had indeed been destroyed and that we had been trying to escape the last remaining safe place we knew of. It dawned on me that this may have been the very 'protection' that the headmaster had talked about.

"S-so you mean we've been killing our friends in the hope that we'd escape, but we'd been in the safest place we could have been? That's... That's..."

"Upupupu~ now, that's more like it. The minute flame of hope snuffed out by the shroud and darkness of beautiful despair. This is what I'd been waiting for!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Everyone had been stunned by the scenes we were looking at, a silence of sheer terror and fear engulfing the room. I looked around at the blank, scared faces that gazed at the monitors refusing to believe what they had seen.

"So we have finally reached the climax of this trial. Now, I get to explain the good part. Voting!"

"…"

"Here's the deal, I'm going to let you guys go! I think I've caused you all enough problems, so I'm going to let you guys execute me so you can escape. Of course, killing me might have the minor implication of making the school completely uninhabitable, since I'm the only one who can control the air purifier. You bastards will be forced out into the world you've just seen, where only death and despair exist."

"…"

"Or, and here's the kicker, you can vote to continue your lives here at Hope's Peak. You bastards will be free to stay here, kicking back and surviving the apocalypse in style, right? But, again, one minor side effect to that. One of you bastards is going to take my place in the firing line. You see, someone has to take responsibility for Kirigiri's death."

"…"

"So which noble soul will lay their life down on the line to allow their comrades to live? Who will be your hope?"

We all remained frozen in place as Junko release a cackle that wounded us further. She wore a grin like a Cheshire cat, but all this time she had been looking directly at one person: me. Her grin bore into me like a drill, and the moment she uttered that last word, she winked.

"Oh, is that I hand I see? Yes, you there. Yes, you with the shoddy green hoodie, you'll do fine as our volunteer. Everybody give him a hand."

The silence that echoed around the courtroom was possibly what scared me the most. There were no appeals, no objections, just me being picked as a sacrifice. Everyone stood, looking away, trying not to make eye contact, and I knew that what would happen.

"Wait!"

"Oh, what do you want now? You must be desperate to delay any longer. You know that your friends are going to vote for you, no matter what you say."

"You've got that wrong! I know I can change their minds."

"Ah, you're still clinging onto your hope. Well, we can't have that, can we? Hmph, sure, let's see you try. Hope's always at its strongest when it's cornered and there's no point in saying 'I won' if my despair didn't beat all the hope."

"Thank Y-"

"But no longwinded spiel about hope and how great it is. I got enough of that from the headmaster. Hope this, students that, despair will never triumph. Bleh, it was so clichéd."

"Hey, we may not remember him but he was still our headmaster! If he believed in us, then we should believe in ourselves too."

"Ugh, what did I just fuckin' say about clichés?!"

"N-Naegs, there's no point in leaving, dude. It's all polluted ruins. There's nothing out there for us, and it's safer in here, even if we do get stuck with her."

"Hagakure, aren't you the one that wanted to leave the most? If you stayed, you'd all be scared, waiting for something that will never come. You can't call that living! We can't stay here, we have to move on."

"But there's nothing to move on for…"

"That's where you're wrong. It's the past, what has happened here, we need to leave behind. You of all people should know that… It's important but we can't change anything if we stay here."

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right. Can't stay in the past forever. I want to live a new life… with all you guys."

"And Asahina…"

"Eh, me? I-I… I just don't know. I want to see my family but I don't want to leave, because I know that they're… they're probably… I just don't know."

"Then find out, be strong and be willing to believe in something. As survivors, we carry the hopes of all those who died. We need to be strong for them."

"For all those who died? I'm… not strong, but I promised I would be stronger. Yeah, I need to be strong. I'm going to carry that weight, and live for them. For Sakura. For everybody."

"Exactly. We have to live, not just survive."

"That's all well and good, Naegi, but everything is gone, destroyed on a whim by this aggravating floozy. A system that flimsy was bound to come down anyway. What can we do about it? We are noth-"

"Stop. You're still here. Although everything was brought down around us, we've managed to withstand it. If the sole surviving heir of the Togami Conglomerate remains, this world can be remade. You can't give up now."

"I have a choice word or two for you interrupting me like that, but you have a point. I never intended to succumb to such nonsense anyway. I surely hope you didn't think the likes of you would be able to convince me otherwise. I said I would not rest until I brought the mastermind down, and that is what I am here for."

"And Genocider…"

"Eh, if he's with it, so am I. After all, she killed all the cute boys already. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"And what about you, Naegi? I suppose you've got your own point to prove, like the headmaster never lost faith in us."

"Nothing quite so… reasonable. I wanted to finish something someone else started, because they couldn't finish it themselves. I have to do this for myself."

"Hmph, I don't know why I expected anything different from you…"

"Guys. Everyone. We're not giving into despair. So long as we all have hope, we can make it together."

"Yeah!"

"You bet'cha, Naegs."

"Hmph, I suppose so."

"So, Enoshima, do you give in to hope?"

"Huh? I lost."

"Of course. None of us are going to be defeated by despair. Now, are you going to join us?"

"Naegi! Are you crazy, dude?"

"I surely hope you're not serious as to letting her live after all she's done."

"I am."

"Boring."

"Eh, did she say something?"

"Boring. Way too boring."

"Boring?"

"Utterly boring. Completely boring. Despairingly boring."

"Enoshima, hope will never be beaten."

"Ugh, again with the fucking clichés?! You're all so lame with the way to talk and the way you act like friends. It's all absolute crap."

"And together, hope will always outlive despair."

"Aww, that's so not cool. You sound so fake, and it's soooooo annoying."

"We will find a way to carry on."

"Nothing remains. Only death awaits you in the outside world."

"And we will rebuild this world."

"Hah, foolish mortals. Such hope is beneath me."

"We will live in hope…"

"So beary boring."

"…and we won't despair!"

"Yes, you will! Everything is gone. Hope will never win. It's boring. It's annoying. It's empty. Despair won't admit defeat. Despair will triumph. Despair will be all that remains."

"You've got that wrong!"

Junko's scream of despair echoed, causing our ears to ring with its volume. As if it was some sort of signal, the screens that showed the images of the outside world changed to those of the same slot machine that had come before the inevitable deaths of more of our friends. The slots rolled for as long as her scream lasted and it seemed to go on forever, until her head finally dropped, her eyes shadowed and empty as her image flashed on the screens. I hesitated to confront her again, lest I provoke her further, but then Togami took to my side.

"You've lost, Enoshima."

"I… lost?"

"Of course. Now, do you admit defeat?"

"All those years of planning, all the time I spent organising the destruction, all the people I killed just to make this happen. And I lost."

"Enoshima…"

"That's… That's… Ah, it's so fantastic."

"Huh? Another personality?"

"So this is despair! Ooh, I could just drop dead any minute now. I couldn't be more in despair. I mean, you know what comes next too, don't you?"

"You mean… Wait, Enoshima, stop!"

"Eh? Ain't you been listening? I don't believe in hope. It's stupid. And that makes this all the better. I can't live with myself. It's so despairingly depressing that I'd kill myself over it."

"No, that's not it. Don't d-"

"What? Don't kill myself? You want to take that from me too?! Well, too fucking bad. Even I don't know what's going to happen, but it's going to be so very despair-inducing, I hope.

"Wait, what do you mea-?"

"Silence. I'm going to enjoy every second of this execution, even if it kills me. Upupu~ Upupupu~ It's punishment time!"

She wasted no time in slamming her hand down into the button by her stand, and no sooner had she pressed it, a steel collar, one we had seen many times before shot out. She cackled as it wrapped itself around her neck, and we caught one last crazed look of pure bliss and before she was immediately yanked upwards…

Except, unlike previous occasions, she didn't disappear from sight. Instead, a loud whirring noise sounded, leaving her suspended 30 feet in the air, the metal collar acting as her noose. The mechanical whirring just wouldn't stop, and the chain yanked over and over, repeating making Enoshima jolt up and down.

From my position, I could still see the grin on her face. Her laugh never wavered, still going on as strong as ever. Her body swaying from side to side as her limbs twitched and the chain jolted as tried to unjam itself.

We stared at the scene in front of us, no lavish spectacle or elaborate set up, an execution in the simplest definition. The jolting never died down, making it hard to see when exactly she would stop moving, but her laugh began to fade and we knew it was coming to an end. As she choked out a few last laughs, she sounded like a dying record.

Soon, the cackle stopped and silence dominated the room. Her body, still suspended, jolted with each movement of the chain. None of us could tear our eyes away from the disturbing scene, even when a loud buzz sounded. We paid no attention to it as the chain suddenly became slack and gravity took effect.

Her body fell through the air for all of a second before she hit the concrete below with a sickening crack. Face down, we couldn't see if she was still smiling, but something inside of me told me that she was and still would be. Worst of all, the lack of personality in her execution would have only caused her more despair.

I had to look away as I noticed the pool of blood and the angle of her limbs on the ground. I could only try not to think about it as I heard Togami's shoes cross the concrete then stop as if to check the body. With a sigh, I heard him groan and walk off.

"Needless to say, she's dead, and I have the switch."

"So, it's over?"

"It is."

"So what now, dudes? Do you think she was lying about the air purifier?"

"I can't imagine she would have. She may have been despicable, but I find no reason to doubt her fairness after that chaotic trial."

"So we're going to leave?"

"Exactly. No turning back now, so let's get a move on. Naegi, I hope you weren't just spouting that drivel to save your own hide."

"Heh, of course not. I meant every word I said."

"Good. Let us leave this place far behind us, then."

"A-a-achoo!"

"Hmph, unrealiable as always."

"E-eh? I m-missed everything! Oh, w-we're all going to d-die."

"I expected you to have some faith in me, Fukawa. Now, we're leaving."

"Let's go, dude. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

"Yeah, Hagakure's right. But, I'm a little worried, you know?"

"Don't be. As long as we're together, we'll have hope, and with hope, we can accomplish anything as long as we don't give up. Hope will push us forward."

"Just open the door, will you?"

"Alright, alright, I'm opening it."

And with that, we opened the door. They slowly cracked open, letting in the first rays of natural light we had all seen for what must have been a year or so. We were could now make the most of our newfound freedom: to craft our own future, with our own hands.

But just for a moment, I clung onto the past.

"Thank you, Kirigiri."


End file.
